Christmas break arrives just in time for Royals
WHL team returns to action Dec. 27
It’s not the type of run a hockey team wants to see heading into the Christmas break — losing three straight, seven of the last nine and 10 of the last 16 — but that’s exactly what the Victoria Royals are facing as they venture off to their homes for a muchneeded breather.
Short-staffed of late with the losses of Regan Nagy (injury), Dante Hannoun (illness), Kade Jensen (suspension) and most recently Igor Martynov, who joined Team Belarus for the world junior championship run, the Royals have fallen on some hard times.
The adversity continued in Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Giants as point-producer Tyler Soy left the game late in the second period due to injury and never returned. His status will be upgraded once the team returns to face the Prince George Cougars on Dec. 27 and 28. They’ll also trek to Kelowna for a game Dec. 30.
In that sense, the break couldn’t come at a better time for the now 20-13-3-0 Royals, who have slipped to seventh overall in the Western Hockey League standings. They remain tied with the Kelowna Rockets and Portland Winterhawks for first overall in the West, but both have games in hand on Victoria.
“It’s time to rest and recover. It’s a pretty tough schedule. I think we have the most games played in the league so rest and recovery and relaxation will help for a couple days and then we’ll get right back at it after Christmas,” said Royals captain Matthew Phillips, who has played a lot of minutes over the first half of the season.
On a positive note, Saturday’s loss at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre was just the fifth of the year on home ice where the club sits 11-4-1-0, but the dip of late has to be concerning, although two of the 10 losses in the last 16 were in overtime where a point was earned.
But after winning their first seven games of the Western Hockey League season the team has stalled at .500 hockey, including the three straight losses this past week with a weekend sweep at the hands of hard-charging Vancouver.
“You never want to lose your last game in the first half, you want to try to go on to the second half on a positive note, but we liked the work ethic and you can’t fault the work ethic, that’s for sure,” said Royals head coach Dan Price. “A lot of young players were in difficult situations and that’s great growth opportunity for them.”
Price, who rarely shows emotion or frustration toward his troops or calls out his players publicly, remains optimistic.
The effect of the depleted roster was visible on Saturday as the legs became heavy and the bench shortened toward the end of the third period. Eric Florchuk took Soy’s spot on the top line with Phillips and Noah Gregor, who was playing his first home game since being acquired from Moose Jaw.
Florchuk scored to briefly tie the game 2-2 early in the final frame, but it lasted a mere 15 seconds before the Giants regained the lead. Mistakes were made late, especially in defensive zone coverage.
“Mentally, I think that’s where we might’ve lost this game, a few mistakes losing your man in the defensive zone and in the neutral zone, giving odd-man rushes,” said Phillips.
“I think we worked hard but there are a lot of things that we can improve on.”
Phillips did note that they were short-staffed with guys playing out of position and he also called the last two games playoff-like and a good experience for those who haven’t been in those situations.
“We made some key errors at key times that they capitalized on,” Price added of the weekend sweep. “That’s part of the learning process with some younger players in the lineup right now, some young forwards and young defencemen. They’ll learn from that and be better in the second half.”
As for the break, it couldn’t come at a better time.
“It’s much-needed rest, for sure,” added Price. “The guys will get to see their friends and families, get to recover — let their bodies regenerate and get mental rest as well, which is really important. I know they’ll come back in the second half ready to go.”
FROM THE THRONE: The Royals announced Monday that assistant coach J.F. Best — who was hired in June — will be joining Team Denmark as a consultant in performance analysis for the world juniors, slated to start Dec. 26 in Buffalo. Best has worked as a consultant for the Danish Ice Hockey Federation since 2015.